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Nebraska: Lone Democrat (Not on Ballot) Remains

by Mark Schorr, Erickson & Sederstrom P.C. Nebraska saw no significant changes as a result of its 2010 elections. All three Republicans in the U.S. House were reelected, with the closest margin of victory being a spread of 62 percent to 38 percent. Republican Governor Dave Heineman also was reelected with a resounding 78 percent […]

Employer’s FMLA Notice Requirements Leave Little Room for Guesswork

While HR professionals may sometimes struggle with the murky areas of employment law, in a leave of absence situation, there should be no mistaking some of the more immediate obligations under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Within five business days of receiving a request for leave, for example, you must provide three types of […]

All Quiet on the Transparency Front: Fees Still a Mystery and Hospital Quality Data Spotty

Have you asked your doctor or dentist to see his fee schedule? When I did so once, a dentist refused, saying in effect: “my prices are higher, but that’s what you need to get my quality advantage.” What’s a consumer to do? A similar relation exists between large employers and institutional providers (hospitals.) The lack […]

Catch-up 401(k) Contributions Didn’t Increase Savings Rate Much

The participants 50 or older who have taken advantage of contributing much more of their salary to 401(k) retirement plans through catch-up provisions already were among the highest savers — and so few workers overall are constrained by the annual IRS limits that catch-up contributions aren’t a solution for  low retirement savings rates. Those conclusions […]

New York Times: Hardcover Business Bestsellers

The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the New York Times on February 5. 1. Jim Cramer’s Stay Mad for Life by James J. Cramer with Cliff Mason. (Simon & Schuster, $26.) The host of “Mad Money” on CNBC explains how to get rich and stay rich. 2. […]

Sexual Harassment: New Legislation Exposes You To Liability For Low-Level Supervisors’ Misconduct

Under California law, you can be automatically liable for harassment committed by your managers and supervisors even if you had no notice of the problem and did nothing wrong. But just who qualifies as a supervisor has long been a troubling and important question because your chances of being held responsible increase as more employees […]

High Court Sends Birth Control Cases Back to Circuits

Rather than resolve a dispute over the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate, the U.S. Supreme Court on May 16 remanded the cases to appeals courts without ruling on the plaintiffs’ religious freedom arguments. The decision to remand seems due to Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, which left the court in a 4-4 conservative/liberal deadlock; leading observers […]

Government Shutdown Accord Doesn’t Change Obamacare Much

A bipartisan accord to fund the federal government until Jan. 15 and raise the government’s debt ceiling until Feb. 7, was reached by leaders in the U.S. Senate on Oct. 16, but the final agreement did virtually nothing to change the health care reform law. The only part of the compromise affecting health care reform […]

Brinker Decision Pushes Meal, Rest Breaks Top of Conversation

Last week, the California Supreme Court issued an opinion in a closely watched case dealing with meal and rest breaks for employees. Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court clarified meal and rest break practices for employers in California; however, the case is generating interest in other parts of the country as well because of the […]